Elon Musk Is A Negative Distraction For Tech Industry, AI Figures Warn

Elon Musk is one of the tech industry’s most towering figures. Having built a tech empire on the back of an electric roadster, the Tesla and SpaceX founder has sparked the imaginations of thousands if not millions of people, turning them on to the possibilities of high technology. However, he now risks doing the tech industry and tech in general more harm than good, as manifested by an increasing number of irresponsible comments and actions.

On the one hand, Musk’s outlandish and hyperbolic statements are hindering the cause of technological understanding. On the other, his actions as Tesla CEO are damaging the reputation of the tech industry, making it likelier that it will suffer detrimental commercial and regulatory repercussions.

Most recently, Musk’s alarming comments about artificial intelligence attracted criticism from AI experts. Last week, Facebook’s head of AI Jerome Pesenti tweeted that Elon Musk “has no idea what he’s talking about when he talks about AI.”

In particular, Pesenti chided Musk for misleadingly overplaying the likelihood of a future ‘evil AI’ takeover, particularly when there are more immediate AI-related concerns to worry about right now, such as how AI and automation could exacerbate inequality. Pesenti also rebuked Musk for exaggerating just how close the tech industry is to developing an artificial general intelligence (AGI).

These are criticisms echoed by a number of other figures within the AI industry, all of whom contend that Musk is effectively setting back public understanding–and development and adoption–of AI.

For instance, a number of AI industry insiders spoke to CNBC last week, expressing very similar views. Choosing to remain anonymous, one industry exec said that much of the AI community think he’s a “negative distraction.” Meanwhile, one (also anonymous) AI researcher characterised him as a sensationalist, one who risks giving the general public an unrealistic understanding of the state of AI development.

Basically, Musk’s comments may likely hinder AI development and adoption by unjustifiably inflating the fear that super-intelligent AI may somehow come to dominate human civilisation one day.

Indeed, Elon Musk is no stranger to such comments, having previously said that AI is humanity’s “biggest existential threat” on more than one occasion. He has also over-egged the power of virtual reality, having once surmised during an interview that the chances of us not currently living in a computer simulation is roughly several “billions to one.”

Such hyperbole overstates the power of technology. It creates the risk that a) people will become tech-averse or, conversely, that b) people will be disappointed and disillusioned when AI, VR and other emerging technologies don’t live up to the hype.

At the same time, Musk’s comments on subjects other than technology, as well as his actions as a CEO, risk causing negative blowback for Tesla and for the wider tech industry.

In recent months and years, Musk has posted baseless criminal accusations on Twitter, and has been forced to pay $40m to settle fraud charges with the SEC. More recently, he has weighed into the informal, astroturfed campaign to end coronavirus lockdowns, posting on Twitter this month to “give people back their FREEDOM.”

Last week, he also tweeted that Tesla’s plant in Alameda County would be reopening, despite the county ordering that it remain shut due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Such an action comes at a time when Tesla’s sales are almost certain to be negatively affected by the coronavirus outbreak, and at a time when Tesla’s stock has fallen by around 10% since all-time highs in February. By potentially risking the safety of his employees for continued growth in profits, Musk casts himself in a less-than flattering light.

Combined with legal rulings that he has violated US labour laws in preventing Tesla employees from forming unions, such actions go a long way towards dispelling any sense that tech firms are at the vanguard of a more socially conscientious capitalism.

And yes, there is a sense that, even with Tesla’s profits, Musk is damaging the company’s performance, and potentially making the rest of the tech industry look bad by extension. Earlier this month, a survey from professional network Blind found that 53% of Tesla’s employees believe his actions are harming the company. Meanwhile, 10.9% describe Musk as an internet troll.

It’s quite incredible that a majority of a company’s employees believe its CEO is actually hurting that company’s performance. But with Elon Musk and Tesla, this is actually the case.

It’s hard to determine just how far Musk’s comments and actions are actually hurting Tesla commercially, since 2019 was a record year for sales. That said, it’s arguable that they may be preventing sales from being as strong as possible.

For example, it’s interesting to note Tesla is struggling to appeal to women, with only 31% of Tesla sales being registered by women in 2019. This comes at a time when women are responsible for 60% of car-buying decisions (according to a Cars.com survey). As argued by Edmunds automotive analyst Jessica Caldwell, many women may find Elon Musk’s brash persona objectionable.

Not only may Elon Musk’s actions be damping Tesla’s sales, but it could result in regulators in various areas taking a stricter approach to the company. For instance, after Tesla ignored its autopilot recommendations and violated investigation agreements, the National Transportation Safety Board criticised the auto manufacturer heavily in February during an autopilot crash hearing. It also singled out government regulators for providing “scant oversight,” something which may ultimately change if Tesla and Musk continue upsetting people. In other words, Tesla may face more restrictive regulation as a result of its ‘unorthodox’ style.

In turn, if Tesla continues to upset regulators, such regulators may be more prone to take an increasingly dim view of other prominent tech companies. Depending on your viewpoint, this may not be good for technological development, since zealous regulation risks shackling or barring innovators.

Of course, proposing a solution to Elon Musk’s counter-productive behaviour is the hardest piece of this puzzle. The Tesla CEO has already been removed as its chairman, and this has done little to rein in his extravagances. That said, the Tesla board could in theory vote to fire him as company CEO.

However, this is unlikely for as long as Tesla continues to enjoy rising sales and stock prices. As a result, Elon Musk will, for now at least, continue misleading the public about technological risks and possibilities, and will continue giving Tesla and tech a tarnished reputation.

Tesla has been contacted for comment.